Most of cost covered with seizure funds …
The Kennedale
City Council last month approved the expenditures of seizure funds ($6540.02) for the purchase of specialized equipment for training in active shooter situations plus the conversion of a several shotguns to fire “bean bag” rounds. {{more:[read more]}}
For the active shooter training, the KPD will purchase six (6) Glock handguns manufactured to use Simunition paint rounds. These weapons allow real time training with weapons that fire a round capable of tracking an officer?s accuracy without endangering the participants. The handguns are molded in blue to prevent them from being confused with live round handguns.
In addition to the modified handguns, protective equipment i.e. faceshields plus the ?Simunition? ammunition used during the training sessions will be purchased. The KPD will have two trained officers on staff that will be able to train the rest of the staff in active shooter scenarios.
KPD Police Chief {{t2:Tommy Williams:
}} stated in the request to the Council, “The first expenditure involves purchasing equipment to train all personnel in Active Shooter scenarios. Since the shooting at Columbine High School, this has become a high priority as other schools and big box retailers/malls have fallen victim to this type of criminal activity. We have been training with other agencies for at least ten years but now have the opportunity to present this training in-house and customized to our needs.”
He added, “Two of our employees are attending a free federally-funded training course at the end of this month to become certified instructors in Active Shooter.”bean-bags as another line of defense …
The second set of expenditure involved repurposing four 12 gauge shotguns to fire less lethal bean bag rounds. The department recently upgraded all of the standard duty shotguns to Mossberg Auto Loader shotguns. The four pump action shotguns are no longer used for front line service and will be the ones converted.
The conversion will involve placing orange-colored stocks indicating a less lethal weapon and purchasing bean bag rounds to use is situations where force is necessary but deadly force is not the most optimal.“Bean bag rounds have been successfully utilized to defuse many situations where suspects are threatening officers with clubs, bats, knives, or other dangerous weapons that can cause serious bodily injury or death,” stated Williams.seizure funds used for bulk of $7,909 cost …
59 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure authorizes expenditures of seizure funds after submission of a budget to the governing body of the municipality. Seizure funds are from police confiscation of property real, personal, tangible or intangible that was used in the commission of a felony.
Chief Williams outlined the purchases as follows:
- Glock Less-Lethal Handguns for Active Shooter Training ? $2,754.00
- Protective Equipment and Simunitions Ammo for Active Shooter Training ? 4,428.45
- Less-Lethal Orange-colored Shotgun Stocks – $271.84
- Wrench for Stock Change-out – $50.99
- 12 ga. Less-Lethal Round for Training and Deployment – $404.25
- The total for all purchases is $7,909.53. The seizure account currently holds a balance of $6,540.02. We will cover the remaining $1,369.51 out of regular training funds.
